Chapter One- iPod Wars

"I know, that's totally what I told him! And you should have seen the look on his face! PRICELESS!!! So then like to make it worse he just totally has to try to cover it up so he's all 'Um so I was uh just uh' and I'm like 'Sure kay well I'll see ya around then' an he got all shifty like uhhhhh an I was like 'Was there something else?' and he was like 'NO!' so I was all 'Bye'."

Kelsey paused for breath before rushing on with her story about Darren trying to talk to her during lunch. I shook my head. Darren had been following Kelsey around since first grade, and it hadn't even stopped when we hit high school. Now we were sophomores, and he was still making attempts to get friendly with her.

Then again, he wasn't the only one. Just the most persistent.

We were walking to the busses after our second day of school. It had been interesting. Already about ten boys that she barely knew had proposed to Kelsey. It had been this way since the hormones kicked in, and she went through boyfriends like I went through books.

"Oh no, there he is! Hide me!!!" My strawberry blonde friend attempted to hide behind my book bag, which didn't work out so well, since I clock in at a startling 5' 2 " and she's almost 5' 6". We make an odd pair, but seeing as I'm the most intelligent one of my friends, I can see that she needs a steady friend that isn't as disposable as the boyfriend of the week.

We managed to get into the bus and I slid into the seat next to her, just to be promptly knocked out of it as a horde of testosterone-infused teenage boys swamped her. I grudgingly moved to the back of the bus and sat down in an empty seat next to the window, frowning at the reflection that looked back at me from the glass.

Wide grey eyes lined with black eyeliner stared back at me through black horn rimmed glasses. A stray strand of blue hair fell onto my unnaturally pale cheek and I brushed it away with a black-nailed hand. The multiple piercings lining my ears glittered in the afternoon sun and I lowered my head to avoid getting it into my eyes.

That's when he tapped my shoulder.

I turned with a scowl ready at my charcoal lips, but then froze. This was a boy I had never seen before. I could feel his stunning hazel eyes looking me up and down. I have no doubt that he took in the black skinny jeans, the scribbled-on Converse, the general 'fuck off' attitude. But what struck me was that he didn't sign me off immediately, like everyone does. He just finished his cursory glance and asked me politely, "Is anyone sitting here?"

His voice. That was the next thing that hit me. It wasn't particularly deep, or high, or velvety, or anything. It was just as if he knew some hidden secret, some joke that you didn't, but he was dying to just give away the punch line so that he could laugh with you. It took me a few seconds to remember that he had asked me a question.

"Um, no. No one is sitting here." He flashed me a smile and sat down. The smile, like his voice, wasn't a glowing, beaming grin. It was just… nice. His eyes sort of crinkled up and his cheeks lifted.

Who was this kid? I had never seen him before. He must be new. But the better question was why did I care? As he was getting himself settled I got a chance to really look at him.

He was tall, with brown hair, cut relatively short. It looked like he had run his fingers through it several times during the day. His skin was several shades darker than mine, which showed time on the beach, and his watch looked fairly expensive. Rich kid, then. He was wearing baggy dark jeans and some kind of dark shoes. When he turned around, I saw that his black shirt had METRO STATION scrawled across it.

I looked back out the window, trying to forget about the boy sitting next to me. Uncharacteristic. It wasn't working, so I pulled out my purple iPod and LO! by Charles Fort. I put it on shuffle and Hum Hallelujah by Fall Out Boy came on. He glanced at it, then looked closer. He looked at me and motioned towards it. I nodded apathetically and he picked it up.

I watched him out of the corner of my eyes as he scrolled through my music. His eyebrows rose and a smile gathered at the corners of his mouth. He selected a different song, and my momentary annoyance was replaced by concentration and apprehension. He had chosen Don't You Know Who I Think I Am? by Fall Out Boy again. He was trying to tell me something. It took me less than a second to understand. I handed him an earphone and navigated through the iPod.

I Don't Care. Fall Out Boy again. He smiled and took the iPod.

We Can Work It Out by the Beatles. I scowled at him, annoyed with this already. But he was there with his smile. It caught me off guard and I reluctantly gave in.

"I'm Sophiyanna." I glanced at him from under my electric blue bangs and added, "But you can call me Sophie."

He laughed. It was a soft laugh, velvety, and utterly remarkable. I thought to myself that I would like to hear that laugh again. I immediately banished the thought. I had no place to be thinking that. This boy was just another boy. There was no reason to go breaking… things just because of him.

"I'm Mercutio." He winced. "I generally go by my middle name though. Call me Zach. I'm pleased to meet you, Sophie."

This I was not expecting. He had given me his name and called me by the name that I had told him to use when addressing me.

I put my nose back in my book and attempted again to ignore him. It was only when the song abruptly changed that I remembered that he still held my iPod. Gods.

Framing Hanley. Hear Me Now. This was getting obnoxious.

Beat It (ft. John Mayer) by Fall Out Boy.

Heartless by Kanye West.

Strange Boy by Kerli.

Apologize by OneRepublic.

That's What You Get by Paramore.

Good Company by Queen.

Don't Trust Me by 3OH!3.

Know Your Enemy by Green Day.

Get Over It by The Eagles.

Teen Titans Theme by Puffy Ami Yumi.

I looked at Zach questioningly after this last choice. He shrugged. "I could tell I was loosing, so I gave up. Figured that if I'm gonna go down, I'm gonna go down in flames." He smiled again. It must be nice, to be able to smile nicely, I thought.

I looked out of the window, and to my intense relief I saw my stop up ahead. I started packing up my books and as I was shoving LO! into my bag when another Beatles song came on, this time Hello Goodbye.

"Tell me about it," I muttered darkly under my breath. The bus stopped and I pushed my way to the front, grabbing Kelsey out of some senior's lap and hauling her down the stairs after me. I didn't turn around.